There are many types of tables, and almost as many types of supports for the tables. Sometimes a single leg, anchored to the floor, or mounted on a very wide base can support the whole table, but usually there are three or more legs to hold the table in a stable position. There are very many means and mechanisms for supporting a table leg, or legs, under a table. Most of them are rigid to provide a permanent support for a fixed table. However there is a need for portable tables that can be set up anywhere they are needed, but still put away compactly for storage. These require removable legs, or folding legs, for simple set-up and dismantling, and for easier carrying or storing.
The simplest, and most effective of these portable tables, uses folding legs that, usually, pivot from the corners of the table, under the table top. These legs can be pivoted upwards, towards the table top, to lie under the table top in a carrying or storing position, or the legs can be pivoted downwards, away from the table top, to support the table. However, there has to be some means for holding the leg, particularly in the downward position. For this purpose, an auxilliary brace is almost always provided to lock the leg in a position more or less perpendicular to the table top to support the table.
These auxilliary braces, almost invariably, require metal brackets having one end positioned along the under side of the table, at a distance from the leg pivot, to support one end of the brace while the other end of the brace is positioned part way down the leg. The upper end of the basic leg may pivot about a single pin, but the bracket, necessary to hold the leg in its upward or downward position, is usually in the form of a removable element that may be hinged on the one end, with a means for connecting the other end part way down the leg - or vise-versa. An even more common bracket is collapsible with two segments, hinged or pivoted at either end and in the middle, that folds in half in the upward position, and extends straight in the downward position. This requires three pivot pins as well as a locking mechanism to hold the table leg securely in either position.
These brackets, pivots and accessories are usually of steel, and may or may not be galvanized, or sufficiently plated or painted, because of cost considerations, and are subject to mechanical malfunctions, increasing with time and age, as well as rust and wear, and unsightly discolorization.
It is an object of this invention to provide a simple molded plastic support brace for a folding table leg. The base of the support brace can be fastened securely to the under side of the table top, and the table leg can be pivoted between an upward and a downward position within the brace.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved support brace for a table leg that has no moving parts - except for the pivotable table leg - and that is simple, attractive, and relatively imune to rust, or corrosion, or other mechanical problems. This improved support brace includes resilient, deformable projections that can hold the table leg in either position.